The invention relates to a pressure regulator, especially a pressure regulator for the first reducing stage of a two-stage aqualung for diving.
Such a regulator of a type known per se comprises a high-pressure chamber connectable by suitable means to the outlet of a cylinder of compressed air (or to a manifold connecting the outlets of more than one cylinder) and communicating via a reducing valve with an intermediate-pressure chamber. The intermediate-pressure chamber, and very often also the high-pressure chamber, are provided with outlet connections to which pressure gauges or other accessories are fitted by means of flexible tubes.
In these known regulators it is sometimes exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to adapt or position these tubes to suit the convenience and safety of the diver. It is self-evident that this kind of problem makes it very difficult to use the devices known hitherto, quite apart from the potential danger of the loops of the tubes snagging on underwater projections.
The object of the present invention is to overcome these problems by adopting a device that will enable the tubes to be positioned more easily, appropriately and safely and with no problems as regards the leaktightness of the connections between the tubes and the outlet ducts of the regulator.
The subject of the present invention is therefore a pressure regulator for the first stage of two-stage aqualungs, comprising a high-pressure gas inlet, a high-pressure chamber communicating with this inlet, and reducing valve interposed between said high-pressure chamber and an intermediate-pressure chamber, said intermediate-pressure chamber, and optionally also said high-pressure chamber, being provided with a plurality of outlets, the regulator being characterized in that the high-pressure chamber, reducing valve and intermediate-pressure chamber are assembled in a cylindrical body and in that the intermediate-pressure and, if present, high-pressure outlets are formed in annular bodies mounted in such a way that they can be turned freely about the axis of said cylindrical body of said pressure regulator.
Another feature of the invention is that said annular body containing the intermediate-pressure outlets of the regulator, itself constitutes the side walls of the intermediate-pressure chamber, being closed at its top by a leaktight screw plug, housing the compensating chamber of the regulator.
Advantageously, said cylindrical body of the regulator according to the invention has two flanges, one located at its end nearest the inlet entrance and the other located in the intermediate-pressure chamber, and these flanges constitute the parts that lock and assemble the two annular bodies on the cylindrical body of the regulator.
In this way the diver can position the various tubes to best suit him, even when the regulator is at pressure, without any problem developing; for the manufacturer too, there is the advantage of having a high-pressure chamber already completely assembled on which to mount, according to demand, said annular bodies, even if of different shapes, that can be angled in different positions.